Mmmm....Tastes like Tiger!

After writing my first ever official blog early yesterday morning I seemed to annoy Emilo right out of bed. Breakfast was on the brain so after some deliberation I posed the question, “what’s for breakfast in Osaka?” We set off to explore the answer.

My friend lives in a neighborhood called Daikokucho, which is apparently just outside of the lively areas of Osaka. Without a Denny’s or any golden arches in sight, we came across a local chain restaurant with a name I definitely cannot pronounce. At these types of establishments don’t try ordering at the cashier. You will quickly be re-directed to the ticket vending machine to choose the meal of your liking. Judging from the tiny thumbnail pictures above the glowing buttons I assumed that the picture with an egg, sausage, seaweed, rice, cabbage salad, miso soup and a VERY interesting dish called natto, would probably be part of the breakfast menu. So I pop in some coins, push the button and out comes a ticket, almost identical to the subway tickets from yesterday. You bring the ticket to the counter where your order is met with a respectful bow and they get cooking. So I get my food along with some nice hot tea and practiced my new Japanese phrase that is typically said before you eat "itadakimasu," which means roughly "have a good meal". Everything was agreeable and within my palate except…natto. Holy Jesus! Basically, it's beans covered in this gooey stringy fishy savory goop (I will add a picture when I see it again because you have to see it). Not only does it challenge the taste buds, but it also challenges your personal hygiene. Each bite of this stuff will surely leave stringy mucus zip lines running from the dish to your lips. It was simply just an all around unpleasant culinary discovery. Maybe it will grow on me by the time I leave (shivers).

I also had my first Japanese supermarket experience. As many Asian markets, Japanese restaurants, or a local chinatowns you may have been to, I can tell you that it dosent prepare you for this experience.

Upon entering you might need a shopping cart to collect your groceries.Pay attention the scale of this cart and you'll realize that even a hobbit would be like "WTF!" Entering the supermarket you'll find the atmosphere a cross between a strip club and the set of "The Price is Right". Neon lights encompass every wall in the store and there is a person chanting an endless tirade of what I can only assume to be the day's grocery specials.

Unlike the subway, you will be hard pressed to find anything written in English. Of course there are your familar fruits, vegetables and staple food items. What makes this shopping experience rich is that there are countless "mystery" items to marvel at and discover throughout the store. I happen to fancy Japanese rice crackers. Simple enough right? I came across one variety package that had a little surprise in it.

Tiny fish that are dehdrated to give them that nice cracker crunch. Cant wait to see what that tastes like!

After our shopping adventure we came back to the apartment and put together a nice lunch. With rice ready to go in the cooker all that was left to do was slice up the peices of raw fish we purchased, accompany it with some wasabi-soy sauce, and mmmmm... oishii... as the Japanese say for delish!

Without getting into too much detail, I want to share small part of the experience of living in a Japanese apartment. Naturally, after two Japanese meals in a day, you might need some "alone time" to get some things off your chest that might be weighing you down. The Japanese have a very particular way in how they utilize this time. Apparently, toilet seats are not in fashion here so in a typical apartment you might find a toilet that looks something like this.

Mind you this toilet has been retrofitted to attempt to accommodate a more western style of relieving yourself. In traditional toilets, that whole seat ring would be gone and what would be left i

a nice watery ceramic hole. Although the seat has been modified, you might notice that space in front of the toilet has just about enough leg room for a two year old. So I decided to give the traditional way a try. When in Rome right?? What you see is just a bird's eye view of how you might go about using this particular model. Now I know what chicks feel like!! I also know that I have pretty good aim...

So just the day's adventures seemed to be coming to a close, my friend remembered my earlier mention of wanting to see a Japanese baseball game. Tonight was my lucky night! His friend Shinya, a Tokyo native living in Osaka, was an avid sports fan, particularlly of baseball. The Hanshin Tigers, former team of Ichiro from the Seattle Mariners, had just beat Yokahama the night before for first place in their division and they were playing them again last night to hold on to their spot at the top. We had arranged Shinya to meet me at the train station while Emilio went to work for the evening. Arriving at the station, I had some time to kill so I decided to browse what seem to be from the outside an gigantic perfume section of a Macys. A closer look revealed that instead of perfumes it was a Japanese delicacy market. A majority of the space was overwhelmingly filled with carefully crafted desserts and pastries.

CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON

Up close...

After browsing the market, I started to feel the afternoon slump creeping in so I stopped at one of the station markets to get a pick me up. I was extremely pleased to find that in Japan, when there is no time for a nap, I could rely on.....

BLACK BOSS to keep me on my feet. No, not a joke or a spoof. Dead serious, down the white guy with a pipe in his mouth. I really don't know if they thought about the marketing of this particular brand. Or maybe they did.... Anyway, black boss and many other varieties of coffee products are widely sold in these espresso shot cans. You can get them on the street out of vending machines. You can even get them hot in some of the machines or stores. Definetly not as good as a fresh brew but by and large much cooler than Starbucks.

So, after my recharge I met Shinya outside of the market. Thankfully he spoke English well and I could tell he was a cool guy right off the bat. We took the train to Koshein Stadium and on the way I learned that baseball has been in Japan for close to 100 years starting with the Tokyo Giants. The second oldest team, the Hansai Tigers, had a rich 75 year history as the overwheming pride of Osaka baseball fans. Entering the stadium I knew right away that this would be unlike any other game I've been to. Let's start with the fact you can BRING YOUR OWN BEER into the stadium. Not only that, but they actually have tables at the entrances where stadium employees are waiting with paper cups to pour YOUR beer to bring to the game. That already made my day but fortunately there is much much more to share.

How about cute japanese girls with keg backpacks ready to pour you a fresh, cold, Asahi Dry, the official beer of Osaka, for only FIVE BUCKS! This one beer maiden in particular seemed to like me. I did attempt to talk to her and try to meet up later to see how I can get my hands on one of those keg-packs. I can't think of a better way to meet people at a party!

So the actual game is played identical to American baseball. However,there are a few differences in some of the traditions and protocol. For example, the pitcher bullpen is located beneath the stadium. The replacement pitchers are swiftly brought out to diamond by electric golf carts. Makes for much less dramatic transition of the game. Imagine the "Sandman" being brought out by cart without Metallica? Don't kid yourself though. Whatever dramatic nuances that are lacking in the game, the fans definetly make up for. The fans in this stadium are some of the most energetic, loyal, and passionate fans I've ever seen in sports. The entire game the whole stadium was singing and chanting catchy rally cheers. During the seventh inning instead of the national anthem and the traditional "Take me out to the ballgame" song, the Tiger fans have their own celebration. Video describes it all but make sure you watch till the end.

CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON

The balloons apparently work because in the bottom of the inning the Tigers rallied 6 runs to come back from a 0-2 Yokahama lead. The balloons also brought some rain but this did not diminish the energy of Tiger fans as, I have to be honest here, a majority of Yankee fans would be heading for the subway at the first sign of a drizzle.The Tigers won in first place fashion and the fans stay long after the game is over to show their appreciation in pouring rain.

Yoda, from Star Wars, made a special appearance, sharing his support for the team with a message on the jumbotron. . One other uniuqe thing about Japanese baseball fans is the customization of their jerseys and clothes. Shinya and I met one adorable Tiger fan family that decked out their little tiger for the game.

So we made our way over to the hardcore fan sectionThe fans had drums, horns, and those noise making bats you bang together. This particular cheer is still stuck in my head long after the game...

CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON

Finally, for lack of a better term, there were male cheerleaders orchestrating the crowd celebrations. Watching them from right field I know these guys were on it the entire game. I wondered if they were actual employees of the team or just dedicated fans.

CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON

We left the stadium in good spirits and me chanting Yooooo Yoooo Yo Yo Hanshiiiin Tigaaaaas all the way home. The experience was amazing! The fans were beautiful and thanks to a little help from my new friend Shinya, I felt very fortunate to briefly be a part of their community. That is until I told them I was a Yankee fan. It seems that the Tigers of Osaka are long time bitter rivals of the Tokyo Giants. Hideki Matsui played for the Giants. Enough said... Oh and to top it all off, if you look in the picture of me above, you might notice the shirt I wore to the game. Yes, the New York GIANTS. Shinya had my back though so I wasn't worried.

So there it is! Blog number two. Once again I was up at 5 AM and couldn't go back to bed. Of course that left me plenty of time to type this nice juicy blog for you all. I expect that things pick up over the weekend and for my sleep schedule to get back on track by then, so chances are I wont have as much time to post as frequent. But I will do my best to keep you all in the loop when I can. I hope you all enjoy it and continue to follow my trip. Feel free to comment, share or whatever when you can.